First introduced to the sitcom at the end of season 3, Amy Farrah Fowler (Mayim Bialik) quickly became one of The Big Bang Theory’s core cast members and a fan favorite. The neurobiologist initially joined the show as a girl counterpart to the series’ breakout star, theoretical physicist Sheldon Cooper (Jim Parsons.) Her quirky personality and charming chemistry with not just Sheldon, but the rest of the gang was a hit with fans everywhere.
Sheldon and Amy’s relationship is surprisingly one of the best written sitcom couple stories, with the majority of the last couple of seasons of the show squarely focused on their love story and scientific accomplishments. There are also many episodes throughout the series focusing on Amy’s friendships with Penny (Kaley Cuoco) and Bernadette (Melissa Rauch.) Amy’s been a main player in many truly fantastic episodes of this ever-popular sitcom.
9 “The Shiny Trinket Maneuver”
Season 5, Episode 12
In “The Shiny Trinket Maneuver,” Amy’s fed up that Sheldon’s not as proud of her as he should be that she’s made it into a prestigious science journal. After consulting with the gang about how to make it up to her and apologize, Sheldon goes jewelry shopping with Penny to get Amy an apology present. He picks out a tiara for her.
Amy’s reaction to the tiara is iconic and priceless. The titular shiny trinket, it shows up throughout later episodes of the series as a reminder that at heart, Sheldon really does care — she wears it in some very important milestone episodes in later seasons.
8 “The Fish Guts Displacement”
Season 6, Episode 10
Amy’s come down with the flu, and per their Relationship Agreement, Sheldon has to take care of her when she’s sick. Amy uses her notoriously touch-averse boyfriend’s proximity to her advantage to get Vicks VapoRub on her chest and baths — even when she admits to Penny and Bernadette that she’s just doing it for attention after she’s recovered.
Faking an illness for attention is a fairly common comedy television storyline, and Bialik’s comic timing makes Amy’s sick day shenanigans hilarious. Sheldon’s “punishment” for Amy lying to him is a spanking like he used to get as a child for lying — which she’s into way more than Sheldon expected.
7 “The Rothman Disintegration”
Season 5, Episode 17
Sheldon and Amy’s relationship is a core element of the series, but Amy’s friendship-crush on Penny is a hilarious and sweet running storyline, too. Half of Season 5’s “The Rothman Disintegration” takes Amy’s fondness for Penny to cringily hilarious heights. Amy has a massive painting of her and Penny commissioned as a gift for her “bestie,” to laugh-out-loud results.
Penny doesn’t like the unflattering painting much at all, but at the end of the day her friendship with Amy matters more to her than one painting. Amy gained a lot more confidence in her social life thanks to Penny, and the painting remains in the background of a handful of future episodes as a neat little tribute to that.
6 “The Scavenger Vortex”
Season 7, Episode 3
Though relationship episodes are the usual on The Big Bang Theory, friendship episodes are a great highlight. In “The Scavenger Vortex,” Raj hosts a scavenger hunt party with the gang that sends them all over town in teams. The fun twist with this episode is that the teams are pairings rarely explored on the sitcom.
For the scavenger hunt, Amy and Howard are teamed up together, which proves a greatly amusing pair-up. The two bond over their love of Neil Diamond and end up singing karaoke together. It’s a chaotic and fun episode for every character, but Amy and Howard’s duo proves the most memorable.
5 “The Love Spell Potential”
Season 6, Episode 23
In the penultimate episode of Season 6, Amy, Penny, and Bernadette join the guys — minus Raj, who’s on a date with Lucy (Kate Micucci) — for a night of Dungeons & Dragons. The girls have a great time, but when Penny puts a love spell on Sheldon and Amy’s characters so they can get intimate in the game, the couple find themselves uncomfortable around their friends.
Amy worries that their relationship is a joke to the rest of the gang, but Sheldon confesses that he has not ruled out ever being intimate with her because he cares about her. The two of them then enact some very sweet D&D roleplay that gets spicy enough in the episode stinger to alert the rest of the gang. Another sweet and fun Shamy episode, with some great gang antics in between.
4 “The Locomotive Manipulation”
Season 7, Episode 15
It’s Valentine’s Day again, and Big Bang Theory Valentine’s Day episodes have some of the series’ best character development! On this episode, Amy books a trip to go on a romantic train ride to Napa with Sheldon alongside Howard and Bernadette. On what should be a lovely trip, Sheldon gets distracted by a rail enthusiast, to Amy’s chagrin.
Amy has dealt with her boyfriend’s self-absorbed behavior countless times in the past, and for Valentine’s Day she booked this trip hoping to spend quality romantic time together and avoid his usual antics. Sheldon responds to her with a frustrated kiss, the first kiss he’s ever initiated — and both of them enjoy it. It’s a huge step forward for the couple and one heck of a Valentine’s milestone.
3 “The Opening Night Excitation”
Season 9, Episode 11
In “The Opening Night Excitation,” it’s almost Amy’s birthday, and it turns out the new Star Wars movie is out the same day. After a visit in his dreams from the late Professor Proton (Bob Newhart,) Sheldon decides that his girlfriend is more important than a Star Wars premiere. To make it even more definitive, Sheldon’s birthday present to Amy is a major milestone in their relationship — their first time sleeping together.
Amy’s excited, Sheldon’s anxious — but the two of them trust each other to make the experience memorable. As far as sitcom relationships go, the pace of their relationship is meaningfully, tenderly handled. This is one of the sweetest episodes of the series and a truly memorable highlight of their relationship arc.
2 “The Bow Tie Asymmetry”
Season 11, Episode 24
Sitcom weddings are truly special — and Sheldon and Amy’s takes the (wedding cake.) In the season 11 finale, everyone is gathered for the geeky wedding of the century, including Amy’s parents (Kathy Bates and Teller,) Wil Wheaton and Mark Hamill. Amy and Sheldon are both extremely excited about the big day — but the two of them also have a breakthrough in their research while preparing for the ceremony.
Seeing Amy and Sheldon combine their scientific endeavors on the most important day of their lives is wonderfully in character for the two of them. Getting to see their families and wedding guests interact throughout the wait for the big moment is a hoot as well. And when the ceremony finally happens, Amy and Sheldon’s vows are genuinely heartfelt and lovely; it’s a marvelous season finale with one of the best weddings in sitcom history.
1 “The Stockholm Syndrome”
Season 12, Episode 24
The series finale of The Big Bang Theory ends in spectacular fashion, giving all the characters lovely sendoffs. Amy and Sheldon are on their way to Sweden to accept the Nobel Prize for their discovery of super asymmetry, but have to deal with keeping Leonard and Penny’s pregnancy news hush-hush.
Ending the series as not only a happily married couple but joint Nobel winners might be perhaps the most impressive accomplishments for any sitcom characters. Not bad at all for two awkward scientists who first met at a coffee shop.
Source: collider.com